The Yukon government has extended and expanded its Business Relief Program intended to soften the blow from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economic Development Minister Ranj Pillai made the announcement Thursday morning.

He said the program has been extended to March 31. Eligibility has also been expanded to businesses operating at a deficit but have not lost 30 per cent of their regular revenue, the minister explained.

Since the 30 per cent benchmark was established initially as a guiding tool, Pillai said, there have been many businesses who didn’t lose that much in revenue, but were still hurting, who were still operating at a loss.

The minister explained the initial intake of the program from the beginning of the pandemic has provided $5.1 million in relief to 434 businesses to help cover fixed costs such as heating bills, rent, telephone expenses and water and sewer charges. The budget to support the program was set at $10 million initially, he said.

The relief program has also expanded the type of fixed costs that are eligible for funding.

At the outset of the pandemic, he said, he and his cabinet colleagues wanted to roll out the program as quickly as possible, though they also expected it would have to be adjusted as time went on to address the realities of the impact.

“We recognize that businesses will be experiencing the recovery period in very different ways and that there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ approach to supporting them,” Pillai explained during a 35-minute press conference held by teleconference.

“That is why the Department of Economic Development has updated and extended the Yukon Business Relief Program from August 1st until March 31st, 2021.

“The updated program includes a broader list of eligible fixed costs, and is available to all Yukon businesses operating at a deficit on a monthly basis.”

Adjustments to the program will help businesses reach their break even point, he explained.

He said new eligible fixed costs include items like aviation insurance premiums, payments on company assets like vehicle payments, and vet bills for businesses in dog mushing and horse camps.

Business are eligible to receive up to $100,000 in assistance over the 12-month period from last April 1 to March 31, which is up from the initial $60,000 cap.

Businesses may also be eligible for up to $100,000 through the federal Northern Business Relief Fund, the minister pointed out.

Pillai encouraged businesses that need help to reach out to the team in the Department of Economic Development for assistance.

The Yukon Essential Workers Income Support Program designed to provide assistance to lower income workers – to bring their hourly wage up to $20 an hour – has provided $856,630 so far, the minister pointed out.

He said the sick leave program to provide support for up to 10 days for workers who don’t have sick leave benefits has so far provided $288,048.

The government, he said, has made changes to the Yukon Nominee Program to address concerns around nominee status for nominees who’ve been laid off or have had their hours reduced.

Pillai said they are pursuing information regarding how many businesses have failed.

It’s clear, though, that the tourism industry has been and continues to be hit the hardest by COVID-19, with travel restrictions and such, he said.

Pillai said working with the industry to find ways to minimize the impact from the pandemic remains a priority.

The small business tax rate, he said, has been reduced to zero beginning Jan. 1 and is expected to save businesses $2 million per year.

While there are some dark clouds in the sky, there are also rays of light, Pillai said.

There are, he said, sectors in the Yukon that have done well, such as the residential construction industry that is going full-out these days.

To keep the economy going, the government put out a large number of all types of infrastructure programs in the spring, and not just road construction, he said.

Pillai said they are actually expecting so see an increase in this year’s gross domestic product, and not all jurisdictions in Canada are as fortunate.

The Yukon’s mining and exploration industry continues to be a pillar in the territory’s economy, particularly with the rising price of gold and silver, though the commodities market has taken a hit in the last few days, he said.

Retail sales, he said, are still strong.

Pillai acknowledged the Yukon’s large public sector with employees in the Yukon, municipal and First Nation governments have also played a factor in lessening the blow of COVID-19.

The Yukon’s unemployment rate, he pointed out, remains among the lowest in the country.

“There continue to be challenges, of course, but we also have reason to be optimistic about the territory’s economic future,” the minister said.